On Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, Quakertown seniors James Palush, Noah Wood and Drew Stoudt were recognized for committing to continue their football careers at the collegiate level. To view photos of the event, please visit the Photo Gallery.
James Palush – California University of PA (Football)
Major: Undecided
Final list of colleges: California of PA, East Stroudsburg, St. Francis
Reasons for choosing California: “What really sold me on Cal was when I went there, I toured the campus and I met the coaches and some teammates. I just really liked the atmosphere that they provided and the family structure I was going into. It was a comfortable place for me to go for the next four years without feeling homesick because I knew they could take care of me, and we’re going to win some games.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in football at the collegiate level? “I didn’t even think I was going to play football in college. Last year, my junior year, I just wanted to get some playing time. I didn’t think I was going to start, but I ended up earning a starting spot and had a good year. I had some schools come in and see me that spring, I went to some camps, and then I had a good senior year. I got some offers. Obviously, I love playing football, and I want to continue doing it. I think Cal is definitely my best choice. I’m really happy where I ended up.”
Coach George Banas: “James was just a big presence on the field. He was able to manhandle and do what he wanted when he wanted to on the field to make plays for us over the course of the past several years. Looking back, I was watching film of CB East and the playoff down there on a Saturday afternoon last year. James was making plays in that game already for us and did a tremendous job for us this year as well.”
About James:
Favorite food: Delicious pasta with seafood – shrimp, scallops
Favorite movie: Step Brothers
Favorite music: Migos
Drew Stoudt – Indiana University of PA (Football)
Major: Business
Final list of colleges: IUP, East Stroudsburg, California of PA
Reasons for choosing IUP: “I liked the campus feel at IUP. The coach was really nice – he’s a new coach. The guys were cool, and I liked the special teams coach a lot. I liked the environment – it was nice.”
What was the progression that led you to playing football at the collegiate level? “I started thinking of playing my junior year after I went from short snapping to long snapping that year. That’s when I decided to go to the next level.”
Coach George Banas: “I think the biggest thing with Drew – it’s sort of like Jake Bovard. You don’t know what you’ve got until they’re gone. Drew is a long and short snapping specialist. It’s a very small minority of people who just do that. A couple of people that go all the way through and do it on Sundays make a great living just doing that. There are colleges that will bring people on just to snap. He had a couple schools looking at him to do it. He does it extremely well.”
About Drew:
Favorite food: Pasta and Meat Sauce
Favorite movie: Four Brothers
Favorite music: Rap
Noah Wood – Ithaca College (Football)
Major: Health Services/Medical Sciences
Final list of colleges: Ithaca, Gettysburg, Ursinus
Reasons for choosing Ithaca: “All three are well-known academic schools. The big thing for me was being able to set myself up after my four years of football. What sold me on Ithaca was just the whole coaching staff and the area up there – it’s a beautiful area and overlooks the Finger Lakes. It’s really a good fit for me. I’m going into a really rich tradition with a winning history. Just the whole culture and the ideals of how they play football (at Ithaca) really matched up with how I play football, so it definitely made it stand above all the schools I looked at.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in football at the collegiate level? “My sophomore year when I started my brother was a senior. He plays at Wilkes now, and he decided to play football. That’s when I really started thinking that this is something I definitely wanted to do at the next level. I love the sport. I’ve been doing it my whole life. It was kind of an easy choice to continue to do that.”
Coach George Banas: “Noah has just worked his tail off. He’s been with me for three years. He has basically led our defense for three years, he’s called every play. We’ve relied on him tremendously to do different things for the program. There are definitely three different ways of getting to college to play your sport, and this is an example right here of three different types of work ethics, three different types of players all getting to the next level for Quakertown. It was a pleasure the last three years with this group.”
About Noah:
Favorite food: Chicken Parmesan
Favorite movie: Step Brothers
Favorite music: Rap/Hip Hop
- Log in to post comments
